Claudia and the Dazzling Golden Tail
by IK161718
Summary: A short story about a pearl diver that gets turned into a mergirl by a pair of mischievous sea nymphs. She has to learn to appreciate her new appearance with the help of her adopted mermaid family. The mergirl must also grow up again due to the sea nymphs curse. Rated T because of casual nudity. Also lightly touches on same sex female relationships.


Claudia and the Dazzling Golden Tail

Sunlight was shining over the waters of the Pacific Ocean on a bright and sunny afternoon day. A nice looking jet powered boat was sailing in the middle of the ocean waters and a young woman named Claudia was the one sailing on it. She had long grass green hair, blue eyes, a stunning beach body, and she was wearing a blue two piece swim suit. The twenty four year old woman was very beautiful but did not yet have a boyfriend or girlfriend. She was on her summer break and decided to go vacationing in the Pacific Ocean to go pearl diving. Claudia drove her boat to a suitable spot and parked it there. "This looks like a good spot to go pearl diving" Claudia noted and began to put on some scuba gear. She noticed that her bikini top was getting kind of tight and decided to take it off and leave it on the boat. "Hmmm, I must still be growing" Claudia said to herself and giggled. Men and even women found Claudia to be very attractive but she was still looking for the right one to come along. She'd know when she found him or her. Claudia then dove into the water wearing her scuba gear and bikini bottom.

As Claudia dove into the ocean waters, she felt the cold water touch her soft white skin. The cool ocean waters felt good on her skin. Claudia loved swimming and was pretty good at it too. She then swam around the ocean bed in search of pearls. Claudia had no luck finding any pearls but she did spot an odd looking grotto off in the distance. "I wonder what's in that underwater cavern over there." "Maybe it's a cavern full of pearls" Claudia thought. She then swam over to the cavern to see what was inside. It was like looking into one of those chocolate wonder balls from the nineties to see what was inside except Claudia wasn't opening a chocolate ball to see what was prizes she would get, she was going into a cavern to see what kinds of treasure she would find. The cave might have a whole bunch of pearls inside so it was even more of an incentive to go inside and look. Claudia swam over to the cavern and explored the inside of it. Two sets of eyes were watching her as she went inside. She did not find any pearls inside but she found something that was even more of a surprise. A mountain of gold was seen sitting at the bottom of the grotto. Claudia's eyes bugged out at the sight of all the gold. She had seen piles of gold in movies and television before but she never thought that she'd see this much gold in real life before. Claudia had a pouch with her and decided to take a small pile. "Better just take a small pile and not be greedy" Claudia told herself. When she was about to take some of the gold, she felt something touch her legs and take of her gear. The odd touch then sent a shock throughout Claudia's entire body.

Claudia turned around and her eyes just about fell out of her head when she saw who had grabbed her legs. Her jaw about dropped at the sight of the two as well. She saw a pair of very beautiful humanoids giving her mischievous smiles. The pair were sea nymphs and they had bobbed silver hair, orchid colored eyes, and had purple colored fins on their arms and calves. Neither of them were wearing a single article of clothing. "Hey Aki look, a foolish human stumbled onto our treasury of gold" one of the sea nymphs said. "She sure is a beauty eh Artemis, just look at that green hair" the other sea nymph added. "W-w-what are you two" Claudia screamed and found it odd that she was talking underwater just fine. "We're sea nymphs foolish human and our names are Artemis and Aki" Artemis told her. "She won't be a foolish human for long though" Aki teased. "What do you mean by that" Claudia questioned and felt an odd tingling feeling in her legs. Claudia then looked in horror as she saw gold scales forming on her legs. "Y-y-you're turning me into a fish, why" Claudia screamed. "We're turning you into a mermaid not a fish, there's a big difference" Artemis stated. "Yeah, we're doing this because you tried stealing our gold" Aki remarked. "But I didn't know that it was your gold" Claudia exclaimed. "Plus, this was someone else's gold before it was yours" Claudia added. "Well sure it was but those humans who owned it are probably dead so that makes it ours by default" Artemis stated in a matter of fact manner. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time foolish hu- I mean mermaid" Aki interjected. Claudia noticed that the scales were traveling up her legs and she tried desperately to scrape them off. "Don't do that you'll only hurt yourself" Artemis told her and took her bikini bottom off which made Claudia's face turn five shades of red. Aki then used the bikini bottom as a sort of hat and giggled. Claudia watched in terror as her transformation continued. The gold scales completely enveloped her legs and her feet became flat and fin like. Her green hair then grew a few more inches until it was down to her butt. She let out a pained scream as her legs merged into a complete mermaid tail and with that her transformation was complete. Claudia looked at her new golden tail and saw that she was no longer human. "Nooooooo" Claudia screeched. "W-why a gold tail though" Claudia asked. "It'll make you remember that you tried to steal our gold and that you're a greedy human at heart" Artemis responded. "Please change me back, I don't want to be a mermaid" Claudia begged. "I'll leave your gold alone and never come back" Claudia added. "No can do new mermaid" Artemis teased. "Yeah because you're going to be our new slave forever" Aki told Claudia. A very devious smile donned on Aki's face and she whispered something to Artemis. Artemis then had the same devious smile and they both looked at Claudia. The two of them then recited a strange incantation and casted a spell on Claudia. Another shock rocked Claudia's body and she wriggled her new tail around.

"W-w-what have you done to me now, aren't you done with making me your personal play thing" Claudia inquired angrily. "Oh this one will make you wish that you hadn't tried to steal our gold" Artemis said in an ominous fashion. Aki simply stayed silent and watched the show unfold before her eyes. An orange bubble suddenly enveloped Claudia's entire body. "Now sing" Aki screamed. "I don't think she'll sing right now" Artemis added. "Oh well, worth a try" Aki said. The orange bubble worked its effects on Claudia. Multiple flashes of light occurred while she was in the bubble and each one of them changed Claudia's body. Her womanly figure changed to a girlish shape, her hair grew shorter but was still quite long, and her tail decreased in size. She then burst out of the bubble when the second transformation completed. "What have you done to me now" Claudia shouted but covered her mouth upon hearing herself talk. Her voice sounded high pitched and more girly. "Hey, get the little princess a mirror from the gold pile would ya" Artemis commanded. "Sure thing sis" Aki replied. Aki then dug out a golden mirror from the gold pile and let Claudia see her new form. Claudia saw what she looked like and simply freaked out. "E-e-e-eeeeeeeeeek" Claudia screamed and put her hands on her face. "You've turned me into a mergirl" Claudia cried. "We sure did" Artemis answered. "Now you'll be easier to boss around and stuff because you're so small" Aki interjected. Claudia was overwhelmed by everything that was happening to her. She had her life and body taken away from her by a pair of conniving sea nymphs and now she was going to be their slave. Claudia then made a mad dash out of the cavern and swam as fast as she could despite the fact that her tail was new to her. "Hey get back her you little shrimp" Artemis yelled and she and her sister swam after her.

Claudia swam as fast as she could out of the cavern with Artemis and Aki hot on her trail. They too could swim fast despite having legs rather than fish tails. The young mergirl swam and swam until she swam head first into another mermaid. She looked up and saw a fierce but beautiful looking mermaid. This mermaid had long wild red hair, red eyes, and a long red scaly tail that looked kind of battered. She also had porcelain skin and her body type had a perfect mix of musculature and femininity. The tough mermaid was carrying a stone spear and a net of freshly killed seafood. Claudia swam behind this mermaid for protection. Artemis and Aki gave the tough mermaid a scared look. "Oh crap, it's Scarlett" They both yelped in unison. Scarlett then gave the pair of sea nymphs an angry look and pointed her spear at them. "Artemis, Aki!" "What are you doing to this poor mergirl" Scarlett fumed. "She tried stealing our gold" Aki shouted. Scarlett then got to Claudia's level and looked straight at her. "Is this true little one" Scarlett asked. Claudia simply shook her head in a manner that meant yes. "Thanks for being honest with me little one." "We can talk more about this matter later" Scarlett said and patted her head softly. She then pointed her spear at the two sea nymphs. "You two, leave this mergirl alone!" "I don't want either of you trying to harm or kidnap her understand" Scarlett demanded. "Merfolk and merkids are not play things for you amusement got it" Scarlett added. The two sea nymphs gulped, nodded, and swam off as fast as they could to parts unknown. When that was all said and done, Scarlett got to Claudia's level and gave her a kind look. "Are you okay little one, can you tell me your name" Scarlett asked. "My name's Claudia" She said shyly and was shaking in fear from the incident. "Claudia, that's such a pretty name for someone like you, my name's Scarlett" she told her. "Can you tell me why those two were after you" Scarlett inquired. Claudia explained her ordeals up until she bumped into Scarlett. "Oh you poor guppy" Scarlett cried. "This must be so difficult for you not only being turned into a mermaid permanently but having to grow up again as well" Scarlett added. Scarlett put her spear and net down and held out her arms for a hug. Claudia then swam into the mermaid's arms and began to cry. "I-I-It's not fair, I didn't know that gold belonged to them" Claudia bawled as tears began to run down her face. "W-w-where am I gonna go" Claudia stammered as she looked up at Scarlett. "Shh, Shh, Shh." "It'll be okay Claudia, I'll take care of you" Scarlett assured her. "You'll be my daughter and live with my family and I okay" Scarlett said and held Claudia gently. Claudia looked a little happier at the sound of this news. "O-okay Miss Scarlett" Claudia responded. "Good, now let's go back to the village so I can introduce you to my family okay" Scarlett said. "Alright" Claudia replied. The two mermaids swam back to the village and Claudia swam close to Scarlett all the way back to the village.

Scarlett and Claudia reached the village where she resided with her and her family. It was a fairly large village with many grottos and coral patches in it. "You're getting good with your tail aren't you" Scarlett remarked. "I guess so" Claudia answered. "Come on into the village so I can introduce you to the family" Scarlett insisted. Claudia nodded and followed Scarlett into the village. When she swam into the village, she saw many mermaids and a few mermen who stared at the new mergirl for a few seconds but then went on about their business. Claudia noticed that there were more mermaids than mermen and even saw pairs of mermaids swimming together or holding hands. She decided to ask Scarlett about this at a later time. Claudia then followed Scarlett to a large grotto at the center of the village. "Wow, you live here" Claudia asked and looked at the structure in amazement. "Yup, I'm one of the matriarchs of this village" Scarlett replied. A mermaid and a merboy came out of the grotto to greet Scarlett. The mermaid had long brunette hair, green eyes, an orange-bronze tail that looked well maintained, and fair tanned skin. The merboy who accompanied her had shoulder length golden blonde hair, blue eyes, white skin, and a sky blue tail. "Hey mom, what did you get me to eat" the merboy asked. "I've got a lot of tasty seafood for you Theo" Scarlett replied. "Scarlett, who's that little cutie with the gold tail" the mermaid asked. "Her name's Claudia and she'll be living with us as our daughter." "Won't it be nice having a daughter Garnet" Scarlett asked. "Oh that'll be wonderful" Garnet replied. She then swam over to Scarlett and kissed her. Claudia gave the two of them an odd look. She didn't see two women kissing each other like that very often even when she was living on the surface. "We're the matriarchs of this village and also wives" Scarlett informed her when she noticed Claudia's odd stare. "It's not uncommon for mermaids to live together like we do" Garnet interjected. "There is a shortage of mermen under the ocean and some of them even have two to three mermaid partners" Garnet added. Claudia took all of this information in and noted how different this was from the human world she grew up in. She then saw her gold tail and looked saddened. Claudia remembered the negative things that the sea nymphs said about her tail. She then swam into the grotto and saw that it looked just as impressive on the inside as it did on the outside. Claudia saw a dining room with a large stone table and a few bedrooms. She then swam over to the bedroom that had a clamshell bed in it that could fit four full grown mermaids comfortably. Claudia swam over to the bed and curled up and did not want to look at her gold tail. She buried her face into the bed. "What's wrong with her" Theo inquired. "We all need to talk, that poor girl has had a long day" Scarlett informed them. "Let's leave her alone for now okay" Scarlett said. They all agreed and went to sit down at a large stone table that was in the grotto. Claudia lied on the bed and wept silently lamenting the loss of her old life. She eventually fell asleep.

Scarlett, Garnett, and Theo are all sitting around the table and are getting ready to talk about Claudia. Scarlett relayed the information about Claudia to Garnet and Theo. The two of them listened to Scarlett intently and felt bad for what had happened to Claudia. "That poor baby, she must've been so scared" Garnet uttered and had a melancholy look on her face. "I'll do my best to help take care of her" Garnett added. "I'll help to, she's so pretty" Theo interjected. Scarlett and Garnet smiled as Theo told them this and then he continued. "I'll also play with her lots and compliment her and protect her a-a-and m-m-maybe I'll marry her one day" Theo admitted and his face had three different hues of red on it. "Awwww, I'm glad we've got you around to help us out Theo" Garnet responded. "I still remember that time three years ago when we adopted you" Scarlett reminisced. Scarlett flashed back to a time three years ago when she and Garnet saved a human Theo from a devastating ship wreck by turning him into a merboy. She also remembered that Theo was very shy around the pair but eventually warmed up to them. "Yeah, I still remember that day" Theo said. "Thanks for everything you two, I'll always be grateful" Theo told them. "And we'll always be happy that your ours now" Garnet replied. "Garnet, How about you take some seafood into where Claudia's at, I'll bet she's hungry" Scarlett stated. "Theo and I will eat our seafood at the table." "Alright then" Garnet responded and grabbed a plate of seafood that had some krill and clams on it. She then swam into her bedroom where Claudia was at.

Garnet swims into her room and sees that Claudia must have cried herself to sleep. She gently places her soft hands on Claudia's face. "Claudia dear, you hungry" Garnet whispered. Claudia wakes up and stares at the seafood. She then looked at Garnet. "Does this need to be eaten raw" Claudia questioned. "Well yes because we don't have those fancy ovens or my-cro-waves under the sea" Garnet teased. Claudia gave Garnet a hesitant stare. "Come on dear you need to eat or you'll never grow up again and you'll keep that girlish and childlike body forever" Garnet explained. Claudia then grabbed a clam and a shrimp off the plate and ate them both. She then proceeded to eat half of the plate. "Wow, looks like someone was a hungry, hungry, sea lion" Garnet remarked. "This seafood tastes so good" Claudia cheered. Garnet then put her hand on Claudia's shoulder. "Claudia, I promise that I'll do my best to take care of you as one of your moms" Garnet said. "O-okay, but won't that be confusing since both you and Scarlett are my moms" Claudia asked. "You can just call us by our first names if that makes it easier for you" Garnet replied. "I'll do just that then Miss Garnet" Claudia responded. "No need to be so formal dear, just Garnet or mom will do" Garnet told her. Claudia felt comfortable around Garnet and moved closer to her so she could snuggle with her. "Hold on dear, I'll be right back" Garnet assured her. Garnet then took the plate off the bed and put it back in the dining room. She then swam back into the bedroom and lied down next to Claudia. Garnet held the little mergirl close and the two of them eventually fell asleep. A half hour later, Scarlet and Theo saw Garnet and Claudia sleeping peacefully on the bed that she and Garnet shared. Scarlett saw that Theo was about to pass out from his meal and took him to his room to sleep. She then swam back to her bedroom and quietly lied down next to the two mermaids that were on her bed. Both of the adult mermaids still wondered why Claudia reacted that way about her tail. They would try to confront her about it the next day.

The next morning, Garnet woke up and saw that Claudia was still asleep. She then sees that Scarlett had already gotten up to do some swimming exercises with Theo. Garnet then rubbed Claudia's back softly in an attempt to wake her up. "Morning Claudia" Garnet said softly. Claudia woke up and stretched her arms and tail. "Yaaawwwwnnnn that was a mighty fine nap under the sea" Claudia declared. She then looked at her gold tail and looked dismayed. "I wish those sea nymphs gave me a red tail instead" Claudia whined. She had a disheartened look on her face. "Don't be like that Claudia, I think your gold tail suits you just fine" Garnet insisted. This made Claudia feel a bit better about her tail but not much. "Hey Claudia, when's your birthday" Garnet inquired. "My birthday is June fifteenth, why do you ask" Claudia questioned. "I was just asking so I could know a bit more about you since you'll be living here with us" Garnet stated. "June fifteenth, today's the eleventh so that's only four days away" Garnet thought to herself. "You mermaids keep track of the months under the sea" Claudia inquired. "We certainly do and we also speak two languages those being English and Mermish" Garnet explained. "I'll teach you Mermish one day when you're ready" Garnet added. She then heard Claudia's stomach rumbling. "Looks like someone needs some breakfast" Garnet giggled. The pair of mermaids swam to the dining room to eat a breakfast of seafood. They then saw Theo and Scarlett returning from their morning exercises. Garnett and Claudia shared some of their breakfasts with Scarlett and Theo. When they were all finished eating, Scarlett had something to say. "I think it would be best to take Claudia out of the grotto and show her around the village wouldn't you say" Scarlett suggested. "I think it would be a great idea!" "That way she'll know where everything is in the village" Garnet agreed. Claudia nodded, smiled, and then swam next to Scarlett to go out and see the village. Theo swam up to the two of them. "Can I come too" Theo requested. "Of course you can" Scarlett replied. "She'll need a little friend with her after all." "Yay" Theo rejoiced. "Take care of things while we're gone okay" Scarlett said and looked at Garnet. "I'll hold down the fort here and have lunch ready for all of you when you come back" Garnet responded. Scarlett then left the grotto and swam towards the village with the two merkids in tow.

Scarlett, Theo, and Claudia all swam towards the village to show Claudia around. Claudia stuck close to Scarlett so she wouldn't get lost. The three of them swam into the village square where mermaids were interacting with one another or just going about their daily routines. The square was quite large. "Here's the village square, this is where a lot of merfolk interact with one another on a daily basis" Scarlett explained. Just then, a group of three mergirls swam up to Claudia and examined her golden tail. "Whoa, look at how shiny it is" one of the mergirls exclaimed as she examined Claudia's scales. "Wow, pretty" another mergirl marveled. "Ooh, I wish I had a gold tail too" a third one squealed. Claudia was not used to all of the attention she was getting and swam behind Scarlett. Scarlett gave Claudia a worried look. "I'm sorry girls, this is my adopted daughter Claudia and she's really shy about her tail" Scarlett pointed out. "She'll come around soon and then you'll have a fourth mergirl to play with" Scarlett added. "Okay Miss Scarlett, we look forward to it" the first mergirl replied. The three mergirls were about to swim off but saw that Theo was with Scarlett and Claudia. "Hi Theo" the three mergirls screamed in unison. Theo blushed and the three mergirls swam off. "Theo's very popular with all of the mergirl's and some of them ask if I've found him a mate yet" Scarlett told Claudia. Theo blushed at the comment that Scarlett made. She then got down to Claudia's level and gave her a concerned look. "Claudia, is there a reason why you don't like your tail" Scarlett inquired. Claudia looked at her and said nothing. "Not gonna say huh?" "It's okay, you can tell me or Garnet when you're ready" Scarlett said. "Come, there's two more places I want to show you" Scarlett insisted. "How about the market place" Theo suggested. "Okay, let's go there then" Scarlett replied. The three merfolk then swam on over to the market place to show Claudia around.

The three of them arrived at the market place and saw that it was bustling with activity as usual. Claudia saw many vendors that were busy bartering with other merfolk or exchanging pearls. "Hey Scarlett, what exactly do mermaids need to buy?" "Don't mermaids just hunt or grow their own foods" Claudia asked. "Well mermaids buy food that's been freshly caught or they exchange it for surplus goods and food that they already have" Scarlett explained and continued. "We also use these pearls to exchange our goods because they're so plentiful under the sea" Scarlett finished. "What about gold coins" Claudia asked. "We don't use gold under the sea because it's evil human money" Scarlett replied. Claudia then looked at her tail and looked sad. "Oh no no no no no!" Scarlett shouted. "I didn't say your tail was evil I said that the way that humans use gold as money was evil" Scarlett added. "Thank you Scarlett" Claudia responded. She then saw a pretty pearl necklace at one of the vendor's stalls. "You want that Claudia" Scarlett asked. "No thank you Scarlett, I'm okay" Claudia replied. "Oh okay, well there's one more place that I want to take you before we return home for lunch" Scarlett informed her. "Where's that" Claudia asked. "It's the park and it's a popular hangout for adult mermaids and merkids alike" Scarlett answered. "I like the park!" "It's a really pretty place and we go there to relax sometimes" Theo described and Scarlett nodded happily in agreement. "I wanna see this park then if it's so great" Claudia requested. Scarlett then made a motion for the two merkids to come and swam in the direction of the park. Claudia and Theo followed closely behind her.

Scarlett arrived at the park with Claudia and Theo in tow. The park looked as magnificent as Scarlett and Theo had described it. There were coral leafs and bio-luminescent plants everywhere. A lot of coral benches were also scattered throughout the park. Many mermaids and merkids were relaxing, playing, or just having a good time being around one another. Scarlett took the two merkids to a coral bench and they all sat down on it. Scarlett sat in between the two merkids with Theo on her right and Claudia on her left. "See, isn't this a pretty place" Scarlett asked. "It sure is, I can see why Theo likes to come here with you and Garnet" Claudia responded. Theo then got off the bench and swam up to her. "W-would you like to play with me" Theo asked and held out his right hand. "Of course I would, you don't have to ask me twice" Claudia replied. The two merkids stay in Scarlett's sight and play childish games such as tag. They then chase each other's tails around for a while. Claudia then approaches Theo, softly holds his head in place with her hands, and kisses him on the cheek. "I'll give you a better kiss when we're older" Claudia told him. The two blushed and stared at each other for about three minutes straight. "Alright you two, it's time for us to go home and get some lunch" Scarlett informed them. "Lunch" Theo yelled excitedly and swam right up to Scarlett. Claudia followed behind the two and followed them back to the grotto for a lunch of seafood.

Scarlett arrives back at her grotto with tow hungry merkids at her side. Garnet swam out of the grotto and greeted the trio warmly. "Did you all have fun" Garnet asked. "We sure did, we took Claudia to three different places in the village" Theo replied. "I bet she enjoyed that a lot" Garnet said. "What's for lunch mom" Theo inquired. "I made everyone's favorite, lobster and kelp salad" Garnet rejoiced. Theo swam into the grotto as fast as he could and sat down at the table at the sound of this announcement. The rest of them followed Theo into the house and sat down at the dining room table. Garnet put plates on the table and got ready to serve everyone. She gave herself, Scarlett, and Claudia equal portions of the lobster salad but made sure to give Theo an extra helping. "Thanks mom" Theo chimed. "You're welcome guppy" Garnet replied. Everyone happily ate their lobster kelp salads and continued to comment Garnet on her food preparation skills. Fifteen minutes later, everyone finished their meals. Scarlett and Garnet took the plates and cleaned them up while Claudia and Theo were still at the dining room table. Theo had his head tilted slightly with his hands on his stomach while Claudia looked a bit distracted and looked off into space. Garnet swam up to Claudia. "Claudia, do you wanna come to my room so we can talk about some things" Garnet asked. Claudia just nodded yes and the two swam over to her bedroom. "I'll be right there Garnet, I've just gotta put Theo to bed." "He's gonna go into a food coma from all of that lobster kelp salad" Scarlett added and carried Theo to his room and tucked him in for the day. "Alright, we'll wait then" Garnet replied.

Garnet and Claudia waited patiently for Scarlett to arrive in the bedroom. She then sat down on the bed next to Claudia. "Claudia, do you wanna tell us why you don't like looking at your own tail" Garnet asked. "You need to tell us because we're your moms and we care about you, plus your tail is a part of your body now" Scarlett remarked. Claudia took a deep breath and prepared to tell them everything that she wanted to. "I-I-I-It's because I can…..almost see…the sea nymphs that took my…life away from me in the reflections on my scales" Claudia blubbered and then continued. "They said that I'd always be a greedy and evil human at heart because I tried to steal their gold and that my tail would always remind me of this." Tears were running down Claudia's face and she found it increasingly difficult to talk due to the lump in her throat. "Sometimes, I worry that they might come back and take me away" Claudia sobbed. Garnet and Scarlett almost immediately began to rub her back, coo her, and comfort her upon hearing all of this. "Shhhh" Scarlett said. "You're not a greedy and evil human anymore, you're a pretty little mergirl now" Scarlett said and continued. "I won't let those sea nymphs take you away from us as long as I draw breath" Scarlett assured her. "Your tail's not a reminder about how you tried to steal a few pieces of gold, it makes you look, look, look" Garnet was trying her hardest to come up with a good word to describe Claudia's gold fish tail. Garnet had an epiphany and she finally came up with the right word. "Your tail makes you look dazzling" Garnet cheered. Claudia giggled at Garnet's efforts to come up with a good word to describe her tail. "Thank you so much, I feel so much better now" Claudia rejoiced and hugged her gold tail. Garnet and Scarlett had big smiles on their faces and both of them gave Claudia hugs and kisses. "Thank you for including me in your family, I'm so grateful to both of you" Claudia beamed. "We're happy to have you as part of the family" Garnet told her. "We'll always be here for you too" Scarlett added. Garnet saw that Claudia was getting quite sleepy and she began to sing her a lullaby. Claudia listened to the soothing sound of Garnet's voice and fell right to sleep. Garnet and Scarlett then kissed her on the forehead. "We love you little sea angel" they both whispered.

Claudia was sound asleep to the point where no one could wake her until morning. Garnet and Scarlett laid on opposite sides of Claudia and looked at each other lovingly. "Claudia told me that her birthday was on the fifteenth of June which is four days away." "How should we celebrate it" Garnet inquired. "I think we should make it something special to make her feel like she's the most special mergirl under the sea" Scarlett suggested. "Let's invite the whole village and make her birthday her best one ever" Scarlett said. "She looks like she's nine years old which means she'll be ten in four days" Garnett claimed. "Then let's make it a tenth birthday to be remembered for years to come" Scarlett remarked. "I've got just the present to give to her" Scarlett admitted. "Really, what's that" Garnett questioned. "I saw her looking at a pearl necklace at the market place today and she looked like she really wanted it" Scarlett recalled. "That sounds like a great idea, she was going pearl diving before this all happened so she really must love pearls" Garnet stated. The two of them agreed to make Claudia's birthday spectacular and memorable. Garnet and Scarlett were then getting sleepy themselves. "Good night Scarlett, I love you" Garnet told her and then lightly kissed her. "I love you too Garnet" Scarlett replied and kissed her back. The two of them fell into slumber and held Claudia tenderly.

Garnet and Scarlett became busy over the next few days so that they could prepare for Claudia's tenth birthday. Both of them told Theo to take her to the park on the day of her birthday so that they could put some finishing touches on the surprise party. The day of Claudia's birthday finally came. The family was at the table eating breakfast and Theo directed his gaze towards Claudia. "Hey Claudia, wanna go to the park with me" Theo requested. "Sure but, just the two of us?" "The sea nymphs won't get us will they" Claudia asked in an apprehensive tone. "They never come around the park anymore because too many mermoms got angry at them for their attempts at stealing children" Theo informed her. "Plus, I can protect you if that ever happened" Theo told her. "That's nice to know" Claudia replied and swam next to Theo. The two of them left to go to the park but Theo winked at both of his moms before leaving for the park.

Theo and Claudia arrive at the park and sit on the same bench they sat at yesterday. Some of the older mermaids found this cute that a mergirl and merboy were sitting together on a bench all alone. "H-hey Claudia, do you like living under the sea with my moms and I" Theo asked. "I love it because it's the best thing that's ever happened to me over these past few days" Claudia answered and continued. "Our moms are so nice and beautiful and you're pretty cute yourself" Claudia finished. She scooted closer to Theo and looked him in the eyes. "I'm so grateful and happy" Claudia remarked. "I like living under the sea with you and our moms as well" Theo said. Both of their stomachs began to rumble signaling that it was lunch time. 'Time for lunch" Theo chimed. "Come on Claudia, let's see what Garnet made us" Theo said to her. "Yeah, let's" Claudia replied. Both of them swam back to the grotto and held hands the whole way back.

When they arrived at their grotto, they noticed that Garnet was not outside to greet them. The two of them went inside and were given a very warm greeting. "HAPPY TENTH BIRTHDAY CLAUDIA" a multitude of voices shouted in unison. There were many mermaids, mermen, and merkids inside the grotto to help Claudia celebrate her tenth birthday. "Welcome back you two, we've been waiting" Garnet informed them. "You've done all this, for me" Claudia marveled and swam over to give Garnet the biggest hug that she possibly could. She was trying her hardest to fight back tears of joy. "Thank you so much" Claudia rejoiced. "You're welcome dear, we wanted to make this day one that you'd remember for years to come" Garnet told her. "I'll always remember this day when I'm older" Claudia replied. "I remember when they did this for me on my seventh birthday and it was great" Theo interjected. Scarlett and Garnet simply smiled and brought the two merkids over to join the festivities. There was singing, eating, dancing, and feelings of merriment as everyone celebrated Claudia's tenth birthday. Scarlett then approached Claudia. "Here sweetheart, this is for you" Scarlett said and presented Claudia with a pearl necklace. Her eyes widened and she put it on for everyone to see. "Thank you so much mom" Claudia beamed. She then presented her gold tail to all who were present and they all marveled at how shiny and beautiful it was. A few hours later, the festivities died down and everyone swam back home. Claudia swam over to her parents and smiled. "Thank you so much for this wonderful day" Claudia told them. "It was our pleasure dear" Garnet replied. All four of the mermaids went in for a group hug. "I love all of you so much" Claudia admitted. "We love you too Claudia" Scarlett answered. Claudia then swam over to an unused bedroom and claimed it as her own. She lied down on the bed and looked forward to her future as a beautiful mermaid.

Twenty years later. A young mergirl and a young merboy were playing tag in a coral reef field. The two of them giggled at each other as they played. They were roughly the same age and they both shared long green hair, blue eyes, and golden tails. The mergirl had longer hair than the merboy while his hair was shoulder length. Both of them were around eight years old and were bursting with vitality. Suddenly, their play time cut short when a pair of familiar looking sea nymphs approached them. "Hey foolish human, looks like you stayed a little gold tailed shrimp forever huh" one of the sea nymphs sneered. "It looks like she had to get a little friend to help her not that it's gonna matter much in the end" the second sea nymph quipped. Both of the twin merkids looked confused as the sea nymphs were about to grab them. The merkids looked at the sea nymphs as if frogs were coming out of their mouths because they didn't know what the two sea nymphs were going on about and they scratched their heads in befuddlement. They huddled together but then put on big and devious smiles signaling that the two sea nymphs were in trouble as they saw their mother approaching the sea nymphs from behind. Their mother towered over the two sea nymphs and looked quite angry. She had long wild green hair, blue eyes, a gold tail, and a pretty pearl necklace around her neck. The mermom had an impressive womanly build and looked to be thirty years of age. She had a sharp stone spear pointed at the two of them and was about to open up a can of whoop ass on the two sea nymphs. "Artemis, Aki" the mermom thundered. "You stay the hell away from my babies" the mermom roared. Both of the sea nymphs froze as they almost instantly recognized the mermom. "Oh my Neptune, i-i-i-it's you a-a-and you grew up again" Artemis quaked. "She looks like an angry mama bear Artemis." "Let's just leave these merkids before she beats us to a bloody pulp" Aki suggested. Artemis agreed and the two sea nymphs darted away as fast as they could and never bothered Claudia or her family ever again. Claudia then swam over to her children and got to their level. "Goldie, Kai." "Are you two okay, they didn't hurt either of you did they" Claudia asked and looked at her children lovingly. "No mama, they just said a bunch of weird stuff and looked like they were gonna grab us" Goldie replied. "You're not angry with us are you mom" Kai asked. "No dear, I'm just glad that my two little treasures are okay" Claudia replied and embraced both of her children. "That was great mom, I wanna be as strong as you or dad one day" Kai chimed. "You will be Kai, both of you will be as strong as me or you father one day" Claudia assured him. She then looked at Goldie and smiled. "You'll also be as good looking as me since you got our good looks" Claudia added. She then heard their stomachs rumbling. "Looks like my little guppies are hungry." "Let's go on home and fix something to eat" Claudia insisted. The two merkids followed their mother home to have a seafood lunch. Claudia was now the matriarch of the mermaid village and had Theo as her faithful and loving husband. Garnet and Scarlett were still around and helped the couple look after the children every once in a while. Claudia could not be any happier with her mermaid life and looked forward to every new day.

Fin

12


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